Search for Fossett is downgraded

Steve Fossett has set many world records pilot, balloonist and sailor

The search for US adventurer Steve Fossett has been scaled back two weeks after his plane vanished over the Nevada wilderness, officials say.

Nevada Civil Air Patrol has suspended aerial searches and put two planes on standby to follow any new leads.

Rescuers said 98% of the area that needed to be searched had been.

Mr Fossett went missing on 3 September after taking off in his single-engine aircraft from a Nevada airstrip for a flight supposed to last three hours.

The 63-year-old aviator did not file a flight plan with the aviation authorities because he was not required to do so.

The Civil Air Patrol has scoured huge areas of Nevada desert, as well as parts of California, in the hunt for Mr Fossett.

Mr Fossett is being sought in mountainous, inhospitable terrain

At the height of the operation, 45 planes were deployed.

"The Civil Air Patrol feel that they have completed their search of 98% of the ground that needed to be covered," Nevada State police spokesman Chuck Allen told the AFP news agency.

"They feel like they've done everything they can at this stage."

Two aircraft are being left on standby in case any new information comes in.

The National Guard is keeping five helicopters on search duty and rescuers are also continuing their efforts on the ground.

Wreckage

Officials are set to meet later this week to discuss ending the huge operation that has involved dozens of flights and searches by both official organisations and volunteers.

People have also been scouring up-to-date satellite images from Google Earth to try to spot Mr Fossett's downed plane or wreckage.

The search in Nevada by the Civil Air Patrol and many private pilots has discovered several previously undiscovered downed planes - some of which were decades old.

Mr Fossett reportedly took the flight to look for locations that could be used for an attempt on the land speed record.

Mr Fossett has racked up about 100 world records. In March 2005, he became the first to fly a plane solo, non-stop around the globe.